Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Yes, but the Venn diagram of native English speakers who understand advanced grammar and native English speakers who generally speak (and less generally write) using such grammar properly is practically two separate circles. Maybe 10% of even extremely profficient English communicators could tell you what "present imperfect" means. I never learned any of it, because the teachers of my advanced placement english courses all assumed we already knew it/thought teaching it was boring and would rather have us read their favorite books instead. Luckily, I was never really tested on grammar in a way I couldn't just sort of intuit my way through. The academic instruction is clearly not the load-bearing component here.
Just like how literally none of us were explicitly taught proper adjective order, even though English definitely has one (it's a big brown dog, not a brown big dog, and I have no idea why), but we tend to get it right anyway based on subconscious vibes of what sounds right.
Well, this is the point. Native speakers intuitively understand the difference between "I eat," "I am eating" and "I have eaten" and when to use them, even if they couldn't name the tenses. But to learn (or teach) English, it's a big help to explicitly name them.
Likewise the "royal order" of adjectives, or OSASCAMP. Most native speakers can't list it, they just know "brown big dog" sounds unnatural. But you need to know it to teach it and while you can pick it up through immersion, it will be faster to study a chart that actually explains it
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link